She Lives in a Shoebox in Tokyo for $46/ Night

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While I was in Tokyo a few months ago, I met a 21-year-old girl named Karin who currently lives inside an internet cafe in Tokyo. Her room is 3 feet (1 meter) wide by 6 feet (2 meters) long, and she doesn’t even have enough space to sleep horizontally. Believe it or not, more than 5,400 others in Tokyo are living in internet cafes because it’s a much cheaper alternative than paying rent for an apartment in this expensive city.

Karin’s situation is a sad one — she was kicked out of her house a year ago, and physically abused by her father before becoming homeless on the streets. With little money in her bank account, she found a safe place to live at this internet cafe, and now she makes $1,300 a month by working at a hostess bar.

But she’s still struggling to get by.

This story highlights the extreme pressure of Japanese society, as well as the social isolation that comes along with it. I’d love to hear your thoughts about Karin’s situation, and the overall oddities of Japanese culture in the comments down below.

#japan #tokyo #girl

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meet khen she lives in an internet cafe in Tokyo this place it’s only 3T by 6 feet why does she live here because Tokyo is one of the most expensive cities on Earth imagine paying 230 bucks for a 40-minute taxi ride $190 for this tiny hotel room or 83 bucks for this meal with a minimum wage of $700 per month affording rent for the Japanese is not so easy I’m a about to spend a day in colen’s life and find out how more than 5,400 Japanese people are secretly living in internet cafes today I’m in Shinjuku right now and we just rolled up to the outside of her building what do you think is going to be happen I don’t have any idea what do you think I don’t know I think she has a lot of hard experience internet cafes are a clear sign of economic problems in Japan these tiny shops which start started as places for business people to rest now offer food drinks and showers making them a safety net for those without a permanent address while I’m glad these cafes exist and help save people from the streets I can’t help but wonder if Japan’s homeless population has been forgotten about as we wait outside to meet khen I wonder what she thinks about this country’s wealth Gap hippers you can change and come back she’s funny so funny I’m really curious to see what Colleen’s room looks like but Outsiders can only visit the cafe after 5:00 p.m. so for now we are off to explore the streets of Tokyo together so I can find out how she ended up here is life stressful uh yeah sometimes I think this is very hard experience but good for my life sometime very stressed and because I have very little money if you make more money would you get a bigger house no I don’t need bigger house but I can eat more my financial string is barely enough to survive for a month so if I could save a little more I would have more peace of mind yeah and your job now it’s a a Hostess bar only for Japanese men not only but most of people are Japanese Hostess clubs are venues where attractive women provide drinks attention and conversation to men for an expensive price these interactions are flirtatious but usually nonsexual and you can find these exclusive clubs in red light districts around Tokyo when a man goes inside of the bar you come to their table and you drink with them oh yeah yeah yeah yeah like all night working time is 900 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. but if the man wants to stay more with hostess we can go to another bar got it what if the man wants to take you to his house would you go uh no I never go but some people go because they have a lot of money so you don’t do that yeah I never I never go is this the same thing these like bars here I how different the man to the girl for talk and for dating they come here for like making uh love lover Making Love Like Making Love No not making love not making love no no girlfriend girlfriend girlfriend the conversations that you have with them are they fun for you or sometimes you don’t like to talk to them it depends on the person it depends person and the first time she doesn’t like to talk about sexual things but now she get usy talk about that they pay for everything you just drink what do you drink like whiskey I love whiskey and uh I love what red wine ah if they offer like expensive wines you you Sal get it high oh look they’re going inside wow I want to you need to find a girlfriend right yeah t Shinjuku is one of Tokyo’s coolest districts famous for its skyscrapers endless shopping and Lively [Music] nightlife but there’s a hipster side to Shinjuku that gives it a Unique Edge this block is called kabukicho Square it’s right next to the famous Godzilla head and it’s where you can find toyoko kids or runaway teenagers who are known for their anime style makeup and baggy clothes these free-spirited Rebels bring a grungy vibe to the area which is now sort of a red light district where prostitutes line the sidewalks at night for this neighborhood of contrast I want to ask Colleen how she fits in here hey guys just want to take a quick break and let you know that my very first book called just go is officially out and into the world it has exclusive stories from the world’s most dangerous countries like Yemen and Afghanistan as well as hundreds of practical tips and advice that I’ve learned from visiting every country in the world I’m currently on a 10 City book tour and we’ve sold thousands of copies and you can get yours right now by clicking that QR code or clicking the link in the description down below all right now let’s get back to Japan who are your friends here uh in Tokyo I don’t have friends in Osaka and Kyoto I have a lot of friends in high school and univers City University I quit after how many years two do you want to go back to school or no I love school but I don’t need to go back I think but I love school friends so I want to meet them but I don’t tell them I run away from home what happens if they see this video oh maybe they surprise but it’s okay Japan has been called the most antisocial country on Earth you can spend an entire day in Tokyo without saying a word to anyone because everything is automated and it’s culturally impolite to talk to strangers from people living in internet cafes to men who don’t leave their bedrooms the reality of social isolation takes on many forms it’s now lunchtime and I want to treat khen to a meal and see if she’ll open up a little bit more about her situation what’s your favorite food Japanese Japanese me too there okay let’s go [Music] oh what does he say wa nice all right so where did you grow up in Japan nya nya how did you learn English High School oh how old are you 21 you’re young thank you is your family in Osaka my mother in Philippines my father I don’t connect things do you speak to your mom uh not not speaking but sometimes I’m looking her face good do you think she wants to talk to you yes yes wow what is that the gross Japanese [Music] soybeans amazing after lunch khen is finally comfortable enough to talk about her past she tells me her rocky relationship with her father is one of the reasons she ran away so why did you leave your dad fire me yeah punch always shouting my mother have to go back Philippine and she cannot walk this country but why is your dad so crazy he always drinking so after your dad like punch you then you run away from home yeah you just said okay bye Dad I’m leaving bye yeah but I don’t hate my dad because it’s my family but I cannot meet now because a little scared now too if your dad finds out that you live in Tokyo do you think he will come here and find you or do you think what will he do maybe he will come I want to see my mom and dad after I earn money and how much money do you make okay uh that’s $1,300 in a month Colleen doesn’t get many chances to escape work so I want to take her to one of my favorite places in Japan a game [Music] [Music] center now I’m in Japan this is exactly what I needed to see right now it’s now 5:00 and we’re finally able to see inside Colleen’s living quarters I’ve never been to one of these internet cafes but I try not to have any expectations about how the place will [Music] look this is the the whole room this is everything yes yes yes I can’t believe what I’m seeing the room is barely larger than a closet with just enough space for a small desk a computer and a worn out mattress that doubles as a chair there’s a faint odor of instant noodles along with the smell of cleaning products from the shared shower down the hall how is it possible to live here it’s like 3 feet Maybe This Way by maybe 6 and 1/2 ft long and this is your bed yes and no no doesn’t recline all the way down how do you sleep uh the rule is only one take this but very cold here in night so I get three this is for here oh like that yes is it difficult no uh it’s compos comtable for me it’s comfortable yes where’s all of your bags your your stuff your clothes oh there here yes everything you own is there yes because I ran away you ran away from my home most of my things is at my home in Nagoya and I but you cannot go to Nagoya yeah I don’t go back to Nagoya in this B is clothes for go to my work and shoes for work high heel book earn money pay a tax save spure increase yeah learning how to invest money oh yeah learn how uh basic money it’s nice you have YouTube oh yes yes yes I always listening music the best thing about this place is you have a big a big screen computer yeah and TV so you can learn anything you can watch any movies how much is this per night 7,000 $46 a night and we are in Shinjuku right yes Shinjuku is a really busy area very expensive here so for 46 bucks a night wow you have neighbors here I don’t know they are leaving maybe most of people are only one or two days these days I don’t I never watch Girl here a lot of boy you’re the only girl maybe I don’t yeah yeah following Japan’s economic Boom the country entered a period called The Lost decades this era saw a shift towards less secure employment with many people especially the youth unable to find stable full-time jobs instead young people found themselves in temporary or part-time positions with insufficient income to cover the high cost of rent at one time internet cafes were a solution to a problem but now the environment of these cafes can be detrimental to long-term physical and mental health due to the confined spaces and lack of natural light the Japanese prime minister has declared a monthong long state of emergency for Tokyo and six other major population centers the pandemic made things even worse by closing these cafes leaving many without even basic shelter when you sleep do you sleep good here um uh this season is yes but winter is very cold here so you’re too cold in the winter yeah khen is only one person but represents more than 5400 others who live in internet cafes around Japan these tiny rooms provide a temporary solution to unaffordable housing but reveal a deeper issue Japan’s problem of social isolation the increase of Cafe resident shows how an antisocial Society fails to support vulnerable groups like gen Z reflecting on khen’s experience it is clear that more needs to be done by the Japanese government to address these issues and ensure a more supportive standard of living for everyone if you could say any message to people in the world what would you tell them the most important is uh relations with other connection with people like this we meet here first time but I really appreciate this chance all of relationship is very important thank you for sharing your story because it’s very difficult to share and I hope that people find inspiration I’d love to hear from you guys in the comments down below what you think of this situation thanks for watching and I’ll see you next week [Music]